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Battery Metal Demand Set To Soar By 500%

Production of battery metals such as graphite, lithium and cobalt will have to increase by nearly 500% by 2050 to meet the growing demand for clean energy technologies, the World Bank reported Monday.

According to the global lender, over 3 billion tonnes of minerals and metals will be needed to deploy wind, solar and geothermal power, as well as the energy storage required to transition to a low-carbon economy.

While renewables and energy storage technologies require more minerals, the carbon footprint of their production — from extraction to end-use — will account for only 6% of the greenhouse gas emissions generated by fossil fuels.

Source: “Minerals for Climate Action: The Mineral Intensity of the Clean Energy Transition” by The World Bank, 2020.

The report also calls for more recycling and reuse of minerals and notes that even if recycling rates were scaled up for minerals like copper and aluminum by 100%, recycling and reuse would still not be enough to meet the demand for renewable energy technologies and energy storage.

Virus ambush

Some minerals, like copper and molybdenum, will be used in a range of technologies while others, such as graphite and lithium, may be needed only for battery storage.

That means that any changes in clean energy technology deployments could have significant consequences on demand for certain minerals.

The lender warns of the disruptions covid-19 is causing in global markets and that developing countries that rely on minerals are missing out on essential fiscal revenues.

“Covid-19 could represent an additional risk to sustainable mining, making the commitment of governments and companies to climate-smart practices more important than ever before,” says Riccardo Puliti, World Bank Global Director for Energy and Extractive Industries and Regional Director for Infrastructure in Africa.

“This new report builds on the World Bank’s long-standing expertise in supporting the clean energy transition and provides a data-driven tool for understanding how this shift will impact future mineral demand,” Pulite says.

The World Bank’s updated predictions echo a February report by Moody’s, indicating that green, social and sustainability bond issuance is expected to hit a combined record of $400 billion just this year. That’s up 24% from the previous record of $323 billion achieved in 2019.

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